My wife told me today that she wanted to go to the range w/ me, as she'd like to learn how to shoot a handgun. She said that it would comfort her to know how to use it if something were to happen to her at the house while I'm gone. I think great, she has the right attitude about firearms and I was more than willing to take her.
We get to the range, I go over saftey rules, how to use the firearm (SIG P229 .40), how to aim, how to grip, etc. She steps up to the line and grips the SIG perfectly. She shoots 3 rounds in a group of about 2" and nails one right smack in the middle of the 10 ring. I'm pleased with her shooting, and her excellent trigger discipline (which is a major problem for 1st time shooters) - she would remove her finger from the trigger guard until she felt ready to shoot again.
Well, Mr. Asst. RO comes over and gets right behind her and tells her she needs to hold the firearm this way and that way (not sure quite what he said, I couldn't hear him completely). This makes her feel stupid as everyone looks at her. She finished the mag and shoots worse than before because this RO has made her so nervous. After she finishes he comes back over and tells her that she is pushing on the gun and that is why she shot so poorly. Well by this time he has totally made her feel like an idiot and she doesn't want to shoot anymore.
It took me some time to let her know that she was doing perfectly fine, and to ignore this guy. She did shoot a few more mags, and seem to be getting the hang of it. But this guy really pissed me off. If she was doing something unsafe I could understand, but this "advice" was totally unecessary for someone who shot just shot a 2" group.
Hopefully I can get her back out again.